Month: December 2015

After hearing the announcement that Adobe has made their Lightroom app on Android free, I decided to give it a go. Mind you I have other apps which I use to edit my photos such as Snapseed, VSCO and Pixlr each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Interface

The Lightroom app has a nice clean interface, those who are new to lightroom will appreciate this. One thing to note however is that it doesn’t come with all the bells and whistles that the desktop version does (such as healing or cloning tools). However it’s easy enough to pick up and work out the settings and editing tools, unlike Snapseed, which is probably the least used editing app my phone right now purely due to the complex menus and settings. In Lightroom the tools are broken into 3 main menus:

1. Move your feet

Photo by Ken Tripp

Instead of just snapping away where you stand, get in close or take a step back, you’ll be surprised at how it can change the look and feel of an image. Try and imagine how the shot will look up close or a little further back, if the background is too noisy/busy then isolate the subject by stepping in closer. If you want more in the frame, take a step back.

2. Try different angles

This works best when combined with point 1, don’t just take shots at eye level, try different angles. Depending on your subject or the type of feel you’re trying to invoke onto the viewer, certain angles work better than others. For example photographing toddlers or young children you should get down low to their level, same applies for pets. For portraits it is almost a sin to shoot from bottom up, instead, shoot top down as this produces a more flattering look for the subject, after all, it hides the double chin :))

Like this:

This one’s for all you Android users out there, Adobe has finally made Lightroom for Android FREE! They’ve scrapped the subscription based however you’ll lose the sync functionality, if you wish to keep this feature you’ll have to have a subscription.

This probably won’t win over the hearts of other editing apps out there such as snapseed, pixlr or vsco, but it’ll certain appeal to photographers who are Android devices. For those who exclusively shoot using their phones, you can now finally edit those .DNG files.

If you’re use to using other editing apps, I still recommend at least giving this a try. I’ll be writing up a short ‘First Impressions’ post on the app soon enough so stay tuned.

Like this:

If you’ve operated a camera in full manual mode then you already know what the ‘Exposure Triangle’ is.

Those of you who are familiar with the Fuji X-T1 and the XF lenses are aware that the ISO and Shutter settings are located on dials on top of the camera body, while the aperture is controlled on the lens. Now if you assign all settings to ‘A’ (automatic mode) and connect the A’s together, you get the shape of a triangle. Coincidence or clever design on Fuji’s part?

Like this:

I have two bags, one for travel and one for when I’m out patrolling the streets. My travel bag is the LowePro Sports Flipside 15L (orange) which originally housed my 5D3 and an assortment of lenses, flash, tripod and other accessories. Today it’s primarily used when I need to bring my entire Fuji X-T1 kit with me on shoots or when traveling abroad.

Right, I’m going to get straight into it. Part of the reason why I switched from my Canon 5D3 over to the Fujifilm X-T1 was because my preferences changed, mainly my shooting style among others. As a street photographer, my thought process and decision making is different to say a wedding photographer. Our needs are different, our styles are different and ultimately we have different views when looking to capture that perfect moment. So here are my reasons why I switched.

Weight & Size

One of the main factors that made me switch was the weight difference. When I was traveling around Europe I had a heavy backpack full of camera gear (including tripod). It was frustrating going through customs and other security checkpoints, it was taxing on the body – going up and down stairs, waiting in queues at an attraction under the summer heat etc. It was causing so much discomfort that in the end I was not enjoying the trip.

The size was the other deciding factor, I found that raising a DSLR to eye level was more noticeable than a smaller compact camera. The size of DSLR and lens also means you had to carry a large size bag to fit it all, whereas the X-T1 has a more compact size and as a result looking less conspicuous. This is extremely important for street photography as it allows you to blend in with the crowd and ultimately capture unspoiled, candid moments.